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PRESENTED BY 

JUDGE fd I^IIS. ISAAC R. Ein, 

WASHrNGTON, D. C. 

-1931- 




CLiss Ei*^ 






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MEMORIAL ADDRESSES 



LIFE AND CHARACTER 



FRANCIS B. SPINOLA, 

A REPRESENTATIVE FROM NEW YORK, 



DKHVEKED IN THE 



House of Representatives and in the Senate, 



FIFTY-SECOND CONGRESS. 



PUBLISHED BY ORDER OK CONGRESS. 



WASHINGTON: 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 

•893 



. "Snails- 



Besoh'cd by theHouscof Hcpresentatives (the Senate concurring), That there 
be printetl of the eulogies ilelivered iu Congress upon the Hon. Francis 
B. Spinola. late a Representative from the State of New York. 8.000 
oopies, -which shall include 50 copies to he botind in full morocco, to be 
delivered to the family of the deceased, and of those remaining, 2.(i00 
copies .shall be for the iise of the .Senate and 5,3.50 copies for the use of the 
House of Representatives; and the Secretary of the Treasury is directed 
to have engraved and printed a portrait of the said Francis B. Spinola to 
accompany said eulogies. 

Agreed to in the House of Representatives ,Iuly 29, 1S92. 

Agreed to in the Senate December 15, li<9'2. 
2 

Gi-.t from 
juTse and Mrs. Isaac R. Httt 
Now. 17, 1931 



PROCEEDINGS IN THE HOUSE OE REPRESENTATIVES. 



ANNOUNCEMENT OF DEATH. 



January 27, 1892. 

Mr. CocKRAN, of New Tork. Mr. Speaker, it is with sincere 
sorrow that I announce tlie death of Hon. Francis B. Spi- 
NOLA, a Eepresentative from I^ew York in the Fiftieth and 
Fifty-first Congresses and also a Representative-elect from that 
State, and my immediate predecessor. Later in the session I 
shall ask the ITonse to take appropriate action in regard to liis 
death. 

I ask the adoption of the resolutions which I send to the 
desk. 

The Cleik read as follows : 

Ilesolved, That the House has heard with deep regret and profound sorrow 
of the death of Hon. Fkancis B. Splnola, late a Representative from the 
State of New York. 

Resolved, That the Clerk be directed to eoiiimunicate a eopy of these 
resolutions to the Senate. 

Resolved, That as a further mark of respect the House do now adjourn. 

The (juestion being taken, the resolutions submitted by Mr. 
Cockran were iinanimoiisly adopted ; and in accordance there- 
with (at 4 o'clock and 25 minutes p. m.) the House adjourned. 



Address of Mr. Cockran^ of New York., on the 



EULOGIES 



ADDRESS OF Mr. COCKRAN, OF NEW YORK. 

March 26, 1892. 

Mr. Speaker : 1 rise to move tlie adoptiou of a resolution 
expressing- tlie feeling of profound sornnv with which tliis 
House has learned of the deatli of Francis B. Spikola. late 
a member from New York. 

The span of Gen. Spinola's life, lasting as it did, some 
seventy years, covered a period of the deepest interest in the 
history of the world. Born during that period of torjior into 
which the world seemed to have sank at the conclusion of the 
iNapoleonic wars, he reached man's estate about the time 
when the great inventions of the railway and telegTaph began 
to multiply the activities of tlie human race and to broaden 
the boundaries of civilization. 

He was always deeply interested in tlie development of our 
national institutions. At an early jjeriod of his career he 
took an active part in the political contests of his State. He 
was several times chosen by the people of his neighboiliood 
an alderman of the city of BrookljTi, and subsequently he 
became a member of the senate of the State of New York. 

When the country became plunged in the throes of civil 
war and the life of the nation was .staked on an issue of ariiks 
he drew his sword in defense of the Federal I'nion. 



Life and Character of Francis B. Spinola. 5 

When peace was restored he again became active in the 
]>ul)lic life of his State. He was several times elected to the 
State legislature from the city of New York, where be had 
fixed liis residence after his retirement fi-om the army, and in 
ISSG he was chosen a Representative in Congress and con- 
tinued to serve as a member of the House to the end of his life. 

During his long career he was always a vigorous fighter, 
but neither friend nor foe ever questioned his loyalty. He had 
many political opponents; he had no personal enemies. 

With the doctrine of secession he would tolerate neither dis- 
cussion nor compromise, but he regarded the civil war as 
ended when the last Confederate soldier had surrendered bis 
arms. As his political opponents were his personal friends in 
private life, so the men whom he fiiced on the field of battle 
he regarded as his fellow-citizens and brothers after the resto- 
ration of peace. 

Firm in his friendships, generous to his opponents, loyal to 
his party, fiiithful to the Union, diligent in the discharge of 
his public duties, his long career in the service of his country 
is fittingly crowned by the unanimity with which his memory 
is bonored this afternoon by the Representatives of the Nation. 



Address of Mr. Curtis, of New York. 

Mr. Speaker: In rising to support the resolutions of my 
friend from the Tenth district of New York [Mr. Cockran], in 
which he pays a deserved tribute to his jiredecessor in this 
House, Gen. Spinola, I shall confine myself to a general state- 
ment of his public services, making particular mention of two 
or three notable incidents in his career wbUe in the civil service 
of his State and as an officer in the army battling for the i)res- 
ervation of the Federal Union. To others I leave the conge- 



6 Address of Mr. Curtis, of New York, on the 

nial duty of commenting on tlie qualities he displayed and tlie 
services lie performed while a member of this House. 

Francis B. Spinola was born in the county of Suftblk, 
State of New York, on the 19th day of March, 1S21. His 
ancestry was of different races. His father was an Italian, 
and I have been told that he could have rightfully been a 
member (if the societies of St. Patrick, St. Andrew, St. George, 
and St. Nicholas. Whether or not this be true, Ins mother 
was the daughter of an officer who served through the revo- 
lutionary war, and she gave to her son the wit, the sturdiness, 
the persistency, the h)yalty, and the versatility of tempera- 
ment characteristic of all these races. He received an academic 
education and entered upon business pursuits befoi-e attaining 
Ids majority. At 22 years of age he was elected an alderman 
and served five years in the common council of the city of 
Brooklyn; later he was elected to the board of supervisors of 
King's County, serving three years. 

In 1853 he was elected to the New York assembly, continu- 
ing four terms, serving on important committees. In 1857 he 
was elected to the State senate; was reelected and served four 
years. He was a member of the Democratic national conven- 
tion which met in Charleston, S. C, and later in Baltimore, 
Md., in ISGO. He was an earnest supporter of Douglas and 
contributed much by his persistent efforts and skillful man- 
agement in securing his nomination to the Presidency. Gen. 
Spinola was the last survivor of the New York delegation to 
that convention. He joined, with many other members of his 
party in New York, irrespective of differences which had 
existed among them in the convention, in urging a union ticket 
to consist of representatives of each of the three candidates 
opposed to Lincoln. 

The success of the llepublican candidate was grievously 
disappointing to him, and he indicated in his positive and 



Life and Character of Francis B. Spinola. 7 

uncompromising way Ids thorough dissatisfaction. He neg- 
lected no opportunity to dechire his hostility to the incoming 
administration and his unyielding opposition to any and all 
political measures it might propose. 

When the flag was struck at Sumter aiul the President 
issued his proclamation of April 1."), 1861, calling for 75,000 
men to uphold the Constitution, maintain the laws, and 
preserve the Federal Union, the legislature of New York was 
about completing its labors for final adjournment. Governor 
Morgan sent a message to the legislature advising the imme- 
diate enactment of measures to enable the State of Kew 
York to fill her quota under this call. 

The bill for enrolling volunteers was introduced into the 
assembly, briefly discussed, and passed by an overwhelming 
majority the same afternoon. Great iutei-est was felt iu the 
action of the senate, which met iu evening session, to consider 
the military bill. Soon after the bill had been reported from 
the committee having it in charge Senator Francis B. Spinola 
took the floor; expectation ran high. It was not only what 
should be the response of New York to the President's requi- 
sition for more than one sixth of the men called for, but the 
character of that response as iudicated by this first act of the 
legislature, Avhich would express the sentiment of the people 
of the Empire State respecting a vigorous prosecution of the 
war for the Union. 

Senator Spinola was a strong man, a leader and organizer 
in his party, known to be stubbornly o])posed to the Federal 
Admiuistratiou. His reiusal to support this measure would 
indicate opposition to a vigorous prosecution of the war or a 
divided sentiment among the masses of the great cities, whose 
voices at that time bad not been heard. He could speak for 
them perhaps better than any man who occupied a seat on that 
floor. He commenced by denouncing the Kepublican party for 



8 Address of Mr. Curl is, of New York, on the 

its errors, and to praise his own for its prudence, wisdom, and 
devotion to the welfare of the country, and said : 

War in any shape is a calamity, but more so when it assumes the shape of 
arraying hrotlier against l)rother; but this is not the time for bandying 
■words. War is upon us. The American iiag for the iirst time has been torn 
down, and it remains for us to say whether it shall be allowed to trail or 
again wave in triumph. The Republicans by failing to agree upon a fair 
compromise, have brought this war upon us ; but now that it is here, the 
Democrats are ready to fight the battles and tight as long as necessary. I 
believe that vmless the request that has come from Washington is promptly 
responded to the President and his Cabinet will not occupy their positions 
in Washington on the Fourth of July. From this time onward you will not 
hear me say anything about party, hut hereafter it will be my country. 

And taking the Stars and Stripes from his desk, waved it in 
the senate chamber, declaring: 

This is my flag, which I will follow and defend. 

The morchants, the bankers, the professional men in the great 
cities, and the masses of the people throughout the State had 
come forward and declared their determination to support the 
admiuistration in its efforts to preserve the Federal Union. 
These words of Senator Spinola, more than the utterances of 
any other man in the senate, gave assurance that the masses 
in the great cities were devoted to the Union and ready to 
enlist for its defense. With a wisdom and foresight possessed 
by few he urged the raising of large levies and the making 
of prompt, vigorous prci^arations for active hostilities. The 
legislature adjourned the following day, and he returned to 
Brooklyn and gave his influence and exertions to the raising 
of troops for the Union Army. 

Later he was appointed a brigadier-general of volunteers by 
the President " for meritorious conduct in recruiting and organ- 
izing a brigade of four regiments and accompanying them to 
the field," an appointment unlike any other made during the 
war. In 18G1 it was not uncommon for men to be appointed 
to high positions in the Army because of political consid- 



Life and Character of Francis B. Spinola. 9 

eration or sectional interests. Tlie effect of many of these 
appointments on tlie success of military operations was scarcely 
less disastrous thai* the effort would be futile of teaching 
mathematics by introducing geometry as the first textbook 
instead of numbers and the four ground rules of arithmetic. 

Tet, in the case of Gen. Spinola, he entered upon the duties 
, of a position, to the proper and efficient discharge of which 
preliminary training and experience had been regarded as 
absolutely necessary to success, with such natural aptitude 
for acquiring the science and skill of military art, that lie was 
able to draw from his associates and superiors such high com- 
mendation as the following extracts from the ofQcial reports 
of the operations of the Third Army Corps on the 23d of July, 
1863, will showl Gen. Henry Prince, commanding the Second 
Division of the Third Army Corps, reports: 

At this juncture I received permission from corps lieadquarters to employ 
my division wliere I saw best. I then directed I?rig. Gen. Spinola to 
marcli his brigade (The Excelsior) by tlie flank along the hollow, then in 
our view, winding to the front and center of the high ridge on which we 
stood, keeping on the lowest ground within it, and, on debouching from 
it by the left flank, to advance in line by liis proper front up the hill he 
would find himself at the base of, and take it. This hill was the key of 
the ground occupied by the enemy's skirmishers. 

The line of the .Second Brigade (The Excelsior) nuide its .appearance at 
the base of the hill between 5 and 6 p. m., and l)egan to ascend before its 
right was clear of the hollow or ravine, which did not give it so fair a 
start as might otherwise have been ; but nothing can transcend the gal- 
lantry with which it rose to the crest and drove the enemy from it. In the 
moment of this success a second crest of the same hill, 200 yards beyond 
the first and confounded with it until this time, came into view, behind 
which the enemy rose from his prone posture as thick as men can stand, 
opening a furious fire of musketry. At the same time a six-gun battery, 
still further beyond, opened with shell. 

The severest part of the charge of the Excelsior Brigade was before it 
after taking the first crest, but without hesitation, with the determination 
of the Union soldier, and the fury of the hurricane, it took the second 
crest and exposed the enemy (scampering away from it) to fire while 
descending the one side of a deep, cleared hollow and climbing up the 
other. 

The simple narrative of this infantry exploit, unaided by any other arm 



10 Address of Mr. Curtis, of New York, on the 

of the service, is the most just (•oniinenilatioii that can be made of those 
who performed it. It is impossible to mention their names. Brig. Gen. 
F. B. Sj'INOLA, United States Volunteers, while leading his brigade 
towards the second of the crests taken by it, fell, wounded in two places, 
severely, but not seriously. 

Gen. J. H. Hobart Ward, commanding Fiist Dhision, Third 
Ai'my Corps, reports: 

Gen. Spinola, commanding Second Brigade, Second Division, formed his 
troops in a ravine in front of the enemy's position, and charging them in 
magnificent style, drove them from the tield in confusion, the major-general, 
commanding the corps, witnessing the whole operation. In this charge 
Gen. Spinola was twice wounded. 

Maj. Gen. AVilliam H. French, commanding the Third Army 

Corps, reports: 

The Excelsior Brigade was selected to carry out my orders, and moved 
rapidly to execute them. Descending the precipitous slopes of Wapjiing 
Heights, they were directed upon the valley which separated the series of 
knolls in our front, behind the principal of which the enemy, perceiving 
the object of the movement, concentrated. The brigade was at once 
deployed at the base of the knoll, and advanced upon the enemy. Halt- 
ing for a moment upon the crest of the hill, the line rushed upon the enemy 
with the bayonet, giving cheer after cheer and driving him back in con- 
fusion out of the gap. Nothing could be more brilliant than the conduct' 
of the officers and men in this aft'air, evincing lighting iiualities of the 
highest order. Brig. Gen. SpiNOLA,who led and commanded the brigade, 
was twice wouuded. 

This man of civil pursuits, withoitt military education or 
experience in the field, at \'l years of age, entered iii)oii 
the duties pertaining to high military rank, and so acquitted 
himself in active hostilities as to win the commendation of 
educated and experienced soldiers, thereby furnishing strong 
evidence that he had that genius for command wliich is not 
the province of schools to create, nor experience to establish, 
when the natural elements are wholly watiting. Gen. Spinola 
through life was in touch with iill the elements of our demo- 
cratic societj'. At all times ai)artisan in discussing questions 
of public concern, he, in the hour of supreme national peril, 
lose to the highest plane of jiatriotism and peiformed the 



Life and Character of Francis B. Spinola. 11 

duties allotted to him with uuseltish devotion. When the 
calm succeeded the storm he again took his place at the head 
of his partisan column and contended for the adoption of his 
political principles in the conduct of public affairs. 

Self-educated, self-established in business pursuits, he entered 
the profession of the law, not with a view of practicing- at the 
bar, but as the means of attaining greater efficiency in the 
performance of duties pertaining to public life. He filled the 
positions of alderman, supervisor, assemblyman. State senator, 
harbor-master, brigadier-general of volunteers, twice again in 
the New York assembly, and three times elected to Congress, 
covering most of the time ft-om his majority to the day of his 
death. All but two of these— brigadier-general of volunteers 
and harbor-master— he attained by the suffrages of his neigh- 
bors, a proof of his popularity and ability. He had a striking 
individuality, which could be neither imitated nor disguised. 
He never lagged in the support of friends or principles, nor 
wearied in his contests with those from whom he differed. 



ADDRESS OF MR. CUMMINGS, OF NEW YORK. 

Mr. Speaker: The old warrior was just threescore and ten. 
After living the time allotted to man he gave up the ghost. 
His stubborn spirit at last yielded to the inevitable. He died 
as he had lived, front to the foe. He faced death at the final 
hour as he had faced it on the field of battle— undaunted and 
without fear. His career had been long and conspicuous. He 
was familiar with the highways and boulevards of life. Its 
byways were not unknown to him, and he had trodden its most 
sinuous paths. Yet he had carried high his crest. His facid- 
ties were alert and resolute. 

Asking no favors, he was always in battle array. Ambus- 



12 Address of Mr. Cummhigs^ of New VorJi, on the 

cades could not uuiierve liim. Indeed, surprise was almost 
unknown to liim. The inevital)le alone could oveinower liini. 
He was ever on the attack. His defense was aggression. He 
invariably met an assault with an assault. 

There was very little of tlie cavalier about liim. He was a 
Itoundhead ^Moss-trooper, ever on the foray. A rough rider, 
lie was uujaelding in discussion and nu'rciless in retort. Ada- 
mantine in spirit, he was soldered into liis opinions. It required 
more than logic to loosen him. He could Ik- melted only by 
working the blowpijie of human sympathy. For, although posi- 
tive in character and action, he was not misanthropic. There 
was a quaint phosphoric light in his intellectuality. It had 
the play if not tlie scoi>e of an aurora. It enlivened his social 
relations and endeared him to his friends. 

New acquaintances were warmed by the glow of his genial- 
ity. There was fire in his eyes, life in his gestures, and 
earnestness in his speech. His face indexed his cliaracter. 
Determination had done its work up(m his features. It was 
the face of a wari-ior; yet the expression was tempered with 
good luimor. The floor of the House seemed native to him. 
Long experience elsewhere had made him familiar with the 
paths of legislation. No trapper ever paced a mountain trail 
more confidently. Never did he falter for a word. A quick 
thinker when on his feet, his tongue kept pace with Ids brain. 

Woe to those who interrupted him, for he bandied the 
rapier and the claymore with equal facility. Once, and only 
once, standing in the shadow of the mace of the sergeant-at- 
arms, did he yield to the overbearing disposition of the 
Speaker. It was in the last hours of the Fifty-first Congress. 
Furious at his headlong assault, the Speaker mounted the 
steps, T)rushed aside the temporary occupant of the chair, 
brought down the gavel, and peremptorily ordered his ruth- 
less assailant to take his seat. Sullenly and with a look of 



Life and Character of Francis B. Spinola. 13 

defiance be obeyed. The assault had been made because the 
old warrior had been refused recognition to call up a bill pro- 
viding for the erection of a monument over the bones of the 
martyrs of the British prison ships. There was Revolutionary 
blood in the old man's veins. In early life he had seen the 
wrecked timbers of one of these floating hells, and had heard 
details of the cruelties from the lips of the soldiers of the 
Revolution. 

Patriotic to the core, Gen. Spinola was a true Democrat. He 
stood upon the Constitution, and upheld the rights of the 
States. An ardent advocate of home rule, he was the impla- 
cable foe of centralization. lie was devoted to the interests of 
tlie many rather than to the interest of the few, but he never 
allowed the interests of the many to trespass upon the rights 
of the few. He chanipioneil the rights of labor, and resisted 
the encroachments of monopolies. Never robbing others of 
their rights, he was jealous of his own privileges and preroga- 
tives. He was of the people and for the people. He asked 
no more for his constituents than he was willing to give to 
others. He was as broad as his country. While deprecating 
extravagance in public expenditures, he advocated liberal 
appropriations for the development of its resources and for 
internai improvements. He did not believe in tying the 
arteries of trade with a protective tariff. He believed that 
commerce was the life of all nations, and that it took charge 
of the interests, the movements, and the intercourse of all 
mankind. Its restriction drained the lifeblood of the great 
city which he in part represented. It imijoverished the 
people and enriched the trusts. 

Sir, no more thorough political partisan than my late 
colleague ever breathed. He loved his party as he loved his 
country, and lie loved his country as he loved his life. In his 
party he believed he saw the only party of the people. He 



14 Address of Mr. Cunimings^ of New York, on the 

loved its leaders as he loved his tried friends. Its eueniies 
were his eueniies. Entire devotion to the party organization 
was his rule of political life. The Mugwump he regarded as 
ail unclean bird — a harpy that reveled in the feast uninvited, 
and defiled every dish that it touched. 

To act in public affairs seemed to be a passion with him. 
For more than a quarter of a century he represented eitlier 
New York or Brooklyn in legislative assemblies. 

Indeed he may be said to have belonged to public life for 
a much longer period, for he was an active worker in political 
organizations which had an essential influence upon public 
affairs since his boyhood. He had iieared his manhood when 
Gen. Jackson went out of office. When the Albany Regency 
was at its zenith his was a prominent figure in the primary 
elections. The regency was a voluntary association of dis- 
tinguished Democrats whose determination in party affairs 
was generally accepted wirliout question. It embraced such 
names as William L. Marcy, Martin Van Buren, Azariah C. 
Flagg, and Edwin Crosswell. It was considered by far the 
most influential political body in the United States. It never 
assumed to dictate, nor did it claim the slightest political 
authority. Its strength lay in the sagacity of its suggestions. 

Young Spinola, although at first a Whig, was undoubtedly 
conversant with its power and influence. It left its impress 
upon his political career. In after days his contests were 
waged in strict accordance with its desires. When it waned 
and Tammany came to the front, he joined that organization. 
He was conspicuons in its mass meetings and at its councils. 
His heart was enwrapped in Tammany. Never from the day 
he euteri'd it to the day of his death, did he swerve from his 
fealty. It is easy from this to work out the sum of his political 
faith and action. It is comprised in the words Democracy and 
discipline No other crown did he ask; no other exaltation 
did he desire. 



Life and Character of Francis B. Spiuola. 1 5 

Mr. Si>e:iker, I kuew Francis B. Spinola for tliirty years. 
He ouce told uie that he was of Italian lineage. Italy is a land 
that has been tempest-tossed by war and passion even as its 
great founder is said to havebeen tossed by land and sea. Since 
the fifth centiuy its history has been divided into eight periods. 
Each has been one of tumult. It is the land of the ponu'gran- 
ate and the vine, of beautiful skies, of love, of poetry, of 
painting and of sculpture. It was there that the lights of 
ancient literature went out, and there that the renaissance 
began before the last rays had fiided from the horizon. It was 
an Italian who gave the Old World a new world; It was an 
Italian who brought countless worlds within our view. 

I know not from what particular family our friend sprang, 
but there were traces of Rienzi, Masauiello, Savonarola, and 
of the Montagues and Capulcts in his composition. Even 
Machiavelli had left his mark. Om.' characteristic, however, 
was preeminent. The Italian loves Italy as the land of his 
birth. Spinola loved America with an Italian devotion. Her 
flag was as i^recious to him as the jleur de Us to a Bourbon or 
the cloak of the prophet to a Mohammedan. He drank from a 
perennial spring of patriotism. It was the spirit of his fathers 
in the Revolution. 

'Mr. Speaker, thrice since the dawn of the new year have 
I addressed the House on occasions of this kind. Circum- 
stances have required it. It is by no means a duty to be 
coveted. Yet no one should shrink from it. It docs seem to 
me that when a member is dropped from the roll of the livhig, 
something definite should be said to show what manner of man 
he was. With this <jbject in view, I have paid this tribute to 
my dead friend. 

As a companion he was sociable and entertaining. As a 
soldier he was vigilant, intrepid, and amenable to discipline. 
As a legislator he was watchful, industrious, and energetic. 



16 Address of Mr. JVhccler, of Alabama^ on the 

As a man lie was far above the average. His frieudsliips were 
warm, and bis enmities bitter. His domestic relations were 
extremely pleasant. He not only gloried in being a Democrat, 
but in being a Tammany Democrat. At all times and under 
all circumstances be was its cbampion, armed to defend it. 
He believed tbe organization necessary to tbe success of bis 
party, and tbe success of bis party essential to tbe public 
welfare. 

Wiiat others and what I have said, in my opinion make ui) 
tbe man as be lived, and it is by no means a moderate distinc- 
tion. 



Address of Mr. Wheeler, of Alabama. 

Mr. Speaker: Our revered and honored brother who has 
passed away was one of the members of this body whose lives 
extended back toward the beginning of the history of our 
country as one of the nations of the earth. Though not an old 
man, he was one of tbe few who touched elbows with tbe 
heroes of tbe Kevolution; and his associations during bis long 
and eventful life were with the men who made New York the 
great metropolis of the world. In everything pertaining to 
that city Gen. Spinola. took a most commendable jiride. We 
all remember his eloquent speech in this House when be 
recounted the boyish awe and admiration with which he 
regarded tbe brave men who fought from Lexington and 
Concord, in 1775, to the final victory at Yorktown in 1781— 
men to whose patriotism and courage we owe the Government 
undei' which we Uve. 

Although very young at the time, he was one of the proces- 
sion that marched with uncovered beads, bearing upon their 
shoulders the remains of the victims of tbe British x)rison ships 
from their temporary resting-place to their final entombment 



Life and Characler uf Francis B. Spinola. 17 

at Fort Greeue, iu Brookljii. These cereiiiouies most vividly 

revived tlie liistorieal associations connected with the occasion 

when the representatives of the thirteen States met in New 

York and conveyed these remains from the graves on the coast 

where they had been hastily buried by the British. 

As the gentleman who has just taken his seat spoke of the 

interest that Gen. Spinola took in these patriots, it would not 

be improper for me to recall some of the facts concerning these 

martyred prisoners of Wallabout Bay. I read, Mr. Speaker, 

from a work published by the Tammany Society in 1808. This 

is a precious volume, only 115 copies ha\ang been published. 

In describing the prison ships, it says : 

Sufifice it to state merely that during the Revolution the British had 
stationed at the Wallabout, Long Island, nearly opposite the city of New 
York, a number of prison ships, on board of which it was the fate of those 
Americans who had l)ecome prisoners of war to be placed. The principal 
of these was the Jersey, the remains of whose hulk are still to lie seen on 
the Long Island shore — 

And that was the ship the gentleman from New York men- 
tioned had been seen by Gen. Spinola — 

the John, the Scorpion, the Strombolo, and the Hunter. From these float- 
ing dungeons, the hearts of whose keepers must indeed have delighted in 
the ■' Inxury of woe," the bodies of our countrymen, having gone through 
the preparatory stages of suliering and death, were taken on shore at the 
Wallabout aiid thrown scarcely beneath the surface. 

It is impossible to learn with accuracy from any records the 

number of men whose lives were destroyed by the brutal and 

inhuman treatment whicli was inflicted uiiun the prisoners in 

these vessels. The report wliicli I have before me says: 

It is ascertained, however, with as ranch precision as the nature of the 
case will admit, that upwards of eleven thousand died on board the Jersey 
ak)ne. 

With the 7(t,00(t,0()0 i)eopk' we have in tlie United States 
to-day, with the stupendous war of ISOl-'Ci fresh in our minds, 
during which the Federal Government placed 2,859,132 men 
under arms within the short period of four years, we are apt 

H. Mis. 102 1 



LS Address of Air. Wheeler^ of Alabama^ on the 

not to ai)i)reciate the full lueauiny of the death, ou oue ship 
alone, of 11,000 prisoners, taken from the small army which 
was contending for our liberties. The report of the Secretary 
of War, May 10, 1700, shows that the number of troops, 
iueludinj;; Continental soldiers and the militia, enlisted during 
the war of the lievolution averaged but 43,000 — at some 
periods a few more and at other periods less. 

From other sources I find that the number actually killed in 
battJe during the Revolution was but 2,200. We therefore see 
that the number of men, many of whom were actually mur- 
dered on the Jersey, was one-fourth the strength of the army, 
and exceeded by fivefold the number- killed in action in all the 
battles of the war. The heroic spirit of our departed fi-iend 
was not the first to appreciate the nobility of these martyi-s, 
but that honor belongs to the ancient and honorable society of 
which he was a prominent member. Xearly ninety years ago 
the Tammany Society prepared a memorial to Congress, which 
was presented to that body on February 10, 1803, by the very 
distinguished Samuel L. Mitchell, then a Representative and 
afterwards a Senator from the State of Xew York. 

After stating that John Jackson, esq., had tendered an eli- 
gible piece of laud as ;i place of solemn depository for these 
victims, the memorial says : 

If the Jiiicient Grecian republics — if Alliens, the nohlcst of them .ill — 
raised eoliunus. temples, and pyramids to commemorate those who fell in 
the fields of Marathon and Plate;T> in defense of their country, can America 
he backward, aud yet just, in jiaying her tribute of respect to the mem- 
ories of citizens who. eijually patriotic aud meritorious, perish less 
splendidly in the presence of unheeded want aud cruel pestilence. 

The memorial to Congress, which is too long for me to read 
in its entirety, then proceeds: 

Without trespassing further on the time of your honorable House, we 
would briefly suggest that after preparing a decent tomb, where the prec- 
ious relics of these victims for the nation may rest undisturbed and sacred 
until tin- (ircat Spirit has decreed the resuscitation of the dead and the 



Life and Character of Francis B. Spinola. 19 

final eousummatioii of all things, we would wish to see erected some mouu- 
luent that may endure the rage of time; neither lofty, nor sumptuous, nor 
magnitieent, but which may, nevertheless, inform future ages, " Here lies 
the remains of an immense multitude of men who, preferring death to the 
sacrifice of their honor and the fidelity they owed to their country, perished 
in the prison ships at New York." 

It appears that Congress did not make an appro])riation, 
and as far as I can learn there was no bill introdnced, and no 
action at that time taken further than the presentation of the 
memorial, an extract from which I have read. In the mean 
time, however, John Jackson executed a deed conveying the 
land to the Tammany Society; and in ISOS Mr. Jackson, as 
chairman, and Benjamin Eomaine, the grand sachem of the 
Tammany Society, perfected arrangements for removing the 
bodies from the shore to the ijlace selected, which, as the 
account says, Mr. Jackson had adorned by "planting trees of 
of an appropriate description." 

When the preparations were completed there was witnessed 
one of the greatest exhibitions of patriotic feeling ever exhib- 
ited in this country. On page 81, in giving an account of the 
proceedings on that occasion, we find these words : 

The detachment of artillery filed off and took post on a hill adjacent to 
the place of interment. The colors being planted and the company of 
marines having taken their station, Benjamin Romaine, grand sachem of 
the Tammany Society, accompanied by the Master Builders and the Tam- 
many committee, performed the ceremonies of laying the corner stone of 
the vault. The eye of every spectator was anxiously turned upon the 
scene. The most profound silence prevailed. It was a moment big with 
])atriotic and exalted and enthusiastic feeling. It seemed that the recol- 
lections and sensibilities of America were concentrated, and that the debt 
of gratitude to the memory of 11,000 of our brave but unfortunate 
defenders, which it belonged to the nation to discharge, was about to be 
canceled. 

The following is the inscription upon the stone: 

In the name of the spirits of the Departed Free. Sacred to the memory 
of that portion of American seamen, soldiers, and citizens who {)eri.shed on 
board the Prison Ships of the British at the Wallabout during the lie volu- 
tion. 



20 Addnss of Mr. IVhcc/cr, of Alabama, on the 

There was also engraved on the corner stone these words : 

This is tlie corner stone of the vault erected by the Tammany Society or 
Columbian Order, which contains their remains. The ground lor which 
was bestowed by John Jackson, Nassau Island, season of blossoms. Year 
of the discovery the 31(>th, of the institution the llHli. and of American 
indeiiendenee tlie 32d. April I!, 1808. 

Mr. Joseph B. Fay, a member of the Tammany Society, and 
a distingiii.shed lawyer of the city of Xe^- York, was appointi^l 
the orator of the day. 

In desciiliiug- the suffering of these men, he says: 

But the sufferings of those vmfortunate Americans whom the dreadful 
chances of war had destined for the prison shijjs were far greater than :iuy 
which have been told. In that deadly season of the year when the dog 
star rages with relentless fury, when a pure air is specially essential to 
life, and even the bosom of indolent ease pants to catch it from the " tur- 
ret and the hill," the British locked their prisoners, after long inarches, 
in the dungeons of a ship infected with contagion and reeking with 
the filth of crowded captives, dead and dying. In vain did tlie terrified 
prisoner remonstrated and beg for pity ; he was hurled alive without mercy 
into this nauseous grave, and no reasoning, no praying could obtain from 
his stern tyrants the smallest alleviation of his fiite. Yet there was mw 
condition upon which he might be spared the tortures of this slow but 
cert.ain death, and that was enlistment in the service of the enemy. 

It was this hallowed resting-place of our martyrs which 
was visited by our friend in his boyish days. It was here he 
imbibed those j)atriotic inspirations which became part of his 
life and so remained until his death. 

And I read these, Mr. Speaker, because I remember the 
night when Gen. Spinola made a speech in this Hall asking 
that an appropriation should be made to commemorate these 
martyrs by a suitable monument. He described the cruelty 
of the British officer Fraser, in South Carolina, to his jtris- 
oners, and read a descriptiiui of their suflerings with a fcivor 
which could only have come from that great-hearted and chi\- 
alrous man. 

He read the insulting offer of the British officer, inviting 
his prisoners to join with the I'ncmies of their country and 



Life and Character of Francis B. Spinola. :^1 

tlieir noble responst', aiul tlicii (|iii)tcMl XW laiij^uayc of the 
officer, who said: 

"Go theu," said tliis olHcer to these martyrs of thi! prison ships, '-go to 
Your (luugeons in the prison ships, where you shall perish and rot. But 
first let me tell you that the rations which have been hitherto allowed to 
your wives and children shall from this moment cease forever, and you 
shall die assured that they are starvinj^ in the public streets and that you 
are the authors of their fate." 

A sentence so terribly awful appalled the firm soul of every listening 
hero. A solemn silence followed the declaration. They cast their wonder- 
ing eyes one upon the other, and valor for a moment was suspended 
lietween love of family and love of country. Love of country at length 
rose superior to every other consideration and, moved by one impulse, 
this glorious band of patriots thundered in the astonished ears of their 
persecutors : -'The prison ships and death or Washington and our country." 

In closing his oration the Taininany orator said : 

On this day we lay the corner stoue of their tomI>. Their ashes hitherto 
have been blowji about like " summer's dust in the whirlwind," hut the mar- 
ble column shall rest on this spot and tell to future ages the story that they 
had to choose death or slavery, and that they nobly elected the former. Per- 
haps their spirits are this moment on the wings of the wind, hovering over 
our heads and smiling on the pious tributes we now humbly pay to their 
memories. In this sepuiclier shall their white bones bo gathered. Itshall 
overlook the scene of their probation, and be at once amoniiment to Ameri- 
can gratitude and of English barbarity. The curious mariner sh.all point 
at it in silent admiration as he passes at a distance, and posterity shall 
call it the tomb of the patriots. 

Tlie devotion of Gen. SriNOLA to the memory of these 
liatriots justifies, I thinli, my recalling the.se scenes and cere- 
monies. 

Could it have been possible foi- anyone to have read of these 
patriotic x)roceedings or to have heard them recounted by any 
one who witnessed tliem, without having the fires of patriotism 
kindled in his heart ? They found a ready response in the heart 
of young Spinola, and the inspiration which then took posses- 
sion of him remained warm and bright until the day of his 
death. 

It was very natural that these impressions, made upon his mind 
in early youth, should have crowded upon him with renewed 



22 Address of Mr. IVkeelcr, of Alabama, on iJic 

streu{;tli in his later years aud stimulated bim in his efforts to 
induce Con.uress to honor these j)atri(its by erecting a monu- 
ment to coninieniorate their heroic endurance aud to mark their 
graves. The highest type of manhood, nobility, and diivahous 
generosity himself, he could not but admire such qualities in 
these heroes of the jiast. 

As I first learn(-'d to know aud esteem Gen. SriNOJLA when 
be entered this Hall, I shall leave to others wlio knew him 
throvighout his long and noble life to tell of his ^reat services 
to the Em})irc State, to whose honor and interests that entire 
life was devoted. Whether as a statesman or a soldier his 
services were in the highest degree honorable and eminent. 
As a State senator of New York, and as one of the ablest Eep- 
reseutatives of that State in this Hall, he was ever ready with 
his great ability aud irresistible fervor to defend the traditious, 
the honor, and the interests of the imperial Comnujuwealth 
he loved so well. Every member of this House was impressed 
with Gen. Spinola's positive characteristics. He possessed 
the conrage of his convictions to a degree seldom found amoug 
men. His strong and well-balanced mind fathomed every 
question, and after divining what his judgment api)roved as 
the right course no jiower on eartii could swerve or shake his 
determination. 

As a general on the field of battle no oflicer of the Aimy of 
the PotonuK! achieved greater distinctiiui than Gen. Spinola 
for bravery aud determined courage. In battle after battle, 
though often wounded, yet always undaunted, he led his troops 
with an intrepidity which won for hmi the applause of his 
army aud his country. Froui the beginniug of the war until 
its close his fortune, his services, aud his life were all freely 
offered to the cause he had espoused; they were all, without a 
reservation, laid \\\\q\\ the altar of his country. 

Iusi)ired by the unparalleled devotion of the patriots of the 



Life and Character of Francis B. Spiuola. 23 

Ecvolutioii, liis whole soul yoarued to emulate the example set 
by them for the imitation of the true men of future generations, 
and to keep alive that spiiit of devotion to eountry whieh made 
it possible for our forefathers to achieve our independence. 
Would that these patriots could look from their sacred graves 
and behold the spirit which animated them so beautifully and 
forcibly exemplified in the character and career of the one whose 
virtues we have assembled here to commemorate. 



Address of Mr. Geissenhainer, of New Jersey. 

Mr. Speaker : Again the undiscovered country calls us to its 
frontiers, bids us oft'er an aft'ectionate farewell, and to draw the 
pall ui)on the bier of another brother who has gone to become 
a iJarticipant in its hidden mysteries; mysteries in which the 
promised glories are to be revealed, the cherished hopes to be 
fulfilled, and the weary traveler to find an eternal rest; myste 
ries which bring reward t(^ life well spent and place the faithful 
nearer to his God ; mysteries which fulfill the evidence of things 
unseen and realize the substance of things hoped for. 

This undiscovered country can not be entered without the 
summons of that grim messenger whose duty it is to recruit 
the army of the shadow world. His summons is one of peace 
to those prejiared to receive and enter the happy life beyond, 
where no i^laces can be desolated and no firesides nuide vacant. 
His summons, often rather a kindly invitation, is made to 
young and old alike; to the new-born infant and to the one 
whose mete of years is full. To all he comes ; his imperative 
comnmnd exempts no strength or degree of life. National 
halls oppose no barrier to his approach. To the last Congress 
he appeared fifteen times, reserving our late brother to close 
the list. 



24 Address of Mr. Gcissciihaiiicr, of Nca' Jcrsey\ on the 

Thiougliout tliis cajjital fity are noted iiiiiuy places where 
from our public servants have been bidden. Within the sound 
of this very Chamber is marked the spot whence one who luid 
occupied the most exalted station in the people's gift was sud- 
denly called away. 

Again this House is assembled to offer the homage of rever- 
ent memory to one who gathered with us here. His bier is now 
before us and we have come to lay iipon it T\ith gentle hands, 
as the last tribute permitted us to offer, flowers of tender regard 
and jewels of affectionate friendship. We too wrmld come to 
dejiosit our humble testimonial, not hoping that it will increase 
but simply mingle with the sweet odors already breathing there. 

During the several years we were sheltered beneath the same 
roof it was [)ermitted us to enjoy more than a casual acquaint- 
ance with the venerable brother and thus to know him as he 
was and understand his nature. 

He had long served the people of his State in legislative 
halls, and comprehended them and their requirements. This 
knowledge enabled him to serve them here in his latter years, 
where no desire of theirs remained unsatisfied. Beneath a 
brusqueness was hidden the earnestness and devotion which 
characterized his labors. 

Gen. Spinola had served his country and exposed himself 
to the dangers of the battlefield. He bore Mith much discom- 
fort the wounds received at Wapping Heights, where he suc- 
cessfully made a l)rilliant charge against an outnumbering 
force that was protected by a stone wall and supported by 
artillery. It was, probably, owing to the wounds received iu 
this gallant affray that Gen. Spinola's life was shortened. 
From his military experience he seems to have acquired that 
untiring persistency with which he ever advocated the cause 
of the veteran. 

The great ambition of his Congressional life was to secure 



Life and Character of Francis B. Spiiiola. 25 

the erection of ;x monuineut to the heroes of the hulk-ships 
martyrs, whose boues after bleaehi7ig long upon the sands 
were placed by private hands within a vault near Wallabout 
Bay; a generous but unfitting tomb for remains of men as 
brave and true as they had been. 

In this connection many will remember Gen. Spinola's 
untiring exertions. At all times, in season and out of season, 
he left no means untried to accomplish what patriotism had 
thus far failed to i^erform. 

No martyr monument was to be a laurel for the General, but 
his efforts to secure its erection will lie ever borne in mind. 
The last words he uttered in this Chamber were in its behalf. 
And yet a monument stands to his memory, in the erection of 
which a pension was obtained for a once prominent political 
opponent and an unjustly sullied reputation vindicated. 

Gen. Spinola had served two terms in this House and was 
entering upon a third. Here, being gifted with a keen sense 
of humor, he often by his apt sayings and quick repartees 
restored the sunshine and drove away the lowering clouds. 
With unswerving allegiance to his party household he warmly 
resented unkind allusions and manifested the value of a friend- 
ship that stands unshaken amid the raging storms. Yet no 
one took offense, and his peculiarities in speech, manner,' and 
in attii-e served only tlie more to endear him to his colleagues 
of both sides. Of genial, kindly, social disposition, he made 
and had no personal enemies. To the coterie that gathered 
about him during the evenings everyone was welcome. . To 
rekindle the camp fires and fight anew the battles was a 
favorite subject whenever the distinguished war governor of 
Pennsylvania came in their midst. They recalled the end of 
others and looked upon fleeting time with no fearing eyes. 
There came a time when the tales were almost told. 

Gradually the veteran drew near the age around which the 



26 Address of Mr. Campbell, of Neiv York, on the 

river winds. His days began to waue aud were as flowers tliat 
close at set of sun. Upon the river bank lie lingered waiting 
to cross to the beauteous gi'oves beyond, and at length there 
came to him in a ripe old age the realization of the last words 
of Gen. Stonewall Jackson: "Let us cross over the river and 
rest under th^ shade of the trees." 



Address of Mr. Campbell, of New York. 

Mr. Speaker: I rise to participate in these sad services, 
realizing the great responsibility and aware <jf the lack of 
ability on my part to do justice to the memory, virtues, 
and statesmanship of our deceased friend and brother, Gen. 
Francis Spinola. However, I ask you to bear with me and 
make allowance for my imperfections, and to accept the assur- 
ance that but for the love I have for his memory, I would not 
venture upon such a task. He is dead, and all that is left of 
him is the small particle of clay which lies cold aud silent in 
the tomb. It is hard to think we will never hear his ringing 
voice again in this Hall. He is not dead — Iiis spirit lives — it 
is abroad. A man dies, but his memory lives. Hi.s life, char- 
acter, and virtues will always be cherished by and live in the 
hearts of his friends until they become no more. 

Men of his character and fame never die. How few there 
ai'e who loved him in life that do not mourn him in death, 
realizing all that was great and kind in his character — a citizen 
and a soldier of the purest manhood, his every undertaking- 
was a triumph. In faith, in feeling, in practice, in all the 
ardent aspirations of his soul, Francis B. Spinola was a 
Demcrat of the purest Jeftersonian type. It was impossible 
indeed from the very nature of his moral and intellectual 
organization tliat it should be otherwise. 



Life and Character of Francis B. Spiiiola. 27 

Sprung frniii the in'oplf, witli tlie most delicate apprecia- 
tion of tbeir inherent rights, with the liveliest solicitude for 
their individual happiness and social prosperity, with an 
abounding cojifidence in their capacity to control their own 
ati'airs, and detesting from the innermost depths of his being 
everything savoring of unfairness, inequality, or oppression, 
his highest ideal of political organization was a government of 
the people, by the people, and for the jieople — a government 
instituted for the benefit of the governed, and not for the 
aggrandizement of the governing class, a government so ad- 
ministered as to secure equal and exact justice to all with 
exclusive privileges to uoue. Of his religious views he rarely 
spoke, and then only with his most intimate friends. He 
preferred to exhibit the principles of his creed in his jjractice 
instead of proclaiming his sentiments from the house top. 
They were too sacred for the coarse ribaldry of the vulgar 
scoffer. 

But those who lived nearest to his heart and were per- 
mitted to look in upon the secret chamber of his inner life 
found there not only the pleasing longing after immortality 
which tilled the soul of the ancient philosopher, but the most 
serious and childlike faith in the full realization of that 
Heaven-sent hope through the priceless promises of the gospel. 

Francis B. Spinola was born at Stony Brook, Long Island, 
March 19, 1821; was educated at the Quaker Hill Academy in 
Dutchess County, New York ; was five times elected an alder- 
man, three times elected supervisor of the county of Kings, 
served six years as member of the assembly of the State of New 
York, and four years as a senator; was appointed brigadier- 
general October, 1862, for meritorious conduct in recruiting and 
organizing a brigade of four regiments and accompanying them 
to the field ; was honorably discharged from the service, August, 
1805, after having been twice wounded; was a delegate to the 



28 Address of Mr. Catiipbell^ of New York^ on the 

Democratic iiation;il convention which met in the city of 
Charleston iu the spring- of 18ti0. 

Gen. Spinola's death leaves Mr. Hugh McLaughlin, his col- 
league, the last survivorof the great body of distinguished Dem- 
ocrats that represented the Empire State in that convention. 
Gen. ISi'lNOLA was elected a member of the Fiftieth and Fifty- 
first" Congresses, and also reelected to the Fifty-second. Mar 
ricd in early life, he ^yas blessed with a companion who went 
with him in all his trials and rejoiced in all his triumphs. She 
was in full sympathy with all his intellectual exertions. A 
sympathetic nation joins in her sorrow for her illustrious dead. 

Gen. Si'iNOLA loved his country with the fervor which 
should characterize a patriot whose ancestors had fought in 
the Eevolution; his grandfather had drawn the sword of a cap- 
tain in that glorious struggle. What his father fought for and 
established he maintained. His voice and pen were both dedi- 
cated to the institutions of his country. The perpetuation of 
constitutional government was the aspiration of his youth, the 
aim of his most vigorous manhood, and the solicitude of his 
declining years. The mad passions of sectional hate never 
burned in his bosom, the unmanly utterance of sectional preju- 
dice never polluted his tongue. 

Our flag was emblematic to him of one country and one i)eo- 
ple. The brightness of each star and the whiteness of each 
stripe told him of a great Government where every State had 
a right to a<lminister its domestic concerns in its own way, yet 
where all tlu^ States were cemented together in the bond of 
constitutional union for the general welfare and the common 
good. lie ever contended for the observance of the Constitu- 
tion. He was always fcnind in the ranks, or rather in the 
lead of those who struggled to maintain the rights of men. 
He took high rank in whatever field of intellectual labor he 
entered. Whether we view him as a student or statesman 



Life and Character of Francis B. Spinola. 29 

he was the same — stroug iu iutelleet, eloqueut iu speech, 
warm iu his friendship. 

Mr. Speaker, when auotlier century shall have passed 
away, wheu tlie State ofhis birth shall have attained 10,000,000 
population and the city of his adoption shall have become 
the meiropolis of the world, as it is now the metrojiolis of the 
continent, wheu the glorious Republic shall have a quarter 
of a billion of people and the student of history looks l)ack 
to the first century of national existence, whenever his mind 
lingers to revel in the delights of literature or of deeds of men, 
Francis B. Spinola will be recognized as among those who 
loved his country and his race. 

And, 3Ir. Speaker, I hope and pray that his soul is at peace 
with God, and while his body lies in its own beloved Green- 
wood, his friends will keep him green in their hearts. 



Address of Mr, belden, of New York. 

Mr. Speaker: It is with feelings of sadness in common 
with my colleagues that I join in their tributes to our deceased 
fi-iend, Francis B. Spinola. We cherish his many virtues 
and qualities, which time only can efface from the minds of 
those who knew him so well in this life. Nothing but the 
love I have for his memory would induce me to speak now. 
My acquaintance with Francis B. Spinola began more than 
thirty years ago, and from the time I first met him until his 
death we were friends. I remember him at the close of the 
session of the senate of New York when he spoke so earnestly 
on the bill to appropriate $10,000,000 for the defense of the 
TTnion. Those who witnessed that closing session will never 
forget the enthusiasm of both branches of the legislature, of 
both parties, at the firing of the first gun on Fort Sumter. 



M) Address of Mr. Bcldeu, of New York, on the 

Gen. Spinola loved liis country with intense enthusiasm. 
He was ready to maintain and risk liis life for the Union wliich 
his ancestors had fouyht for in the Revolution. 

His grandfather Avas a captain in Washington's army, and 
remained such during the entire war. 

Francis B. Spinola was born at Stony Brook, Long Island, 
in March, 1821. He remained there until he was 10 years of 
age, and was then sent to the Quaker Hill Academy at Pough- 
keepsie, where he remained for five years; he then came to 
New York, as many farmer's sons have done, to enter on a 
new career. His life, from the time he came to the great city, 
was a busy one. He was elected five times as an alderman, 
three times to the assembly, and three times as a senator to 
the legislature of the State of New York. 

In the war of the rebellion he commanded a brigade of vol- 
unteers, and at Suffolk, Va., in 1S(!3, wlien he was wounded ; 
and the wountls there received were really the cause of his 
death. 

At the close of the war he returned to the city he loved and 
engaged in mercantile imrsuits. xifterward, entering again 
into political life, he was honored by his party with an election 
in the Fiftieth, Fifty-first, and Fifty-second Congresses. 

He was a delegate to the Charleston Democratic convention 
of 1800, and one of the few survivors at the time of his decease 
of that memorable assemblage, which ended in the disrui^tion 
of the Democratic j)arty and wliich resulted in the election of 
Abraham Lincoln and the downfall of slavery. 

Gen. Spinola was a friend and associate of Stephen A. 
Douglas, Governor Seymour, Chief-Justice Sanford E. Church, 
Dean Richmond, and other eminent men who have passed over 
to the silent majoiity. 

It is a consolation to his friends to know that in his illness 
and last hours he was surrounded by his loving family, soothed 
and sustained, while liis soul was passing to his Maker. 



Life and Character of Francis B. Spinola. 31 



Address of Mr. Hooker of Mississippi. 

'\\\. Speaker : T had the pleasuro fir.'<t to meet our deceased 
brother, in honor of whom these obsequies are held in the House 
to-day, in the Fiftieth Congress, to which he was elected a 
member, as I was myself. With great propriety the then dis- 
tinguished Speaker of the House [^Ir. Carlisle], in assigning 
Geu. Spinola to a suitable sphere of duties on the committees 
of the House, placed him on the Military Committee. I had 
the honor to serve on that same committee, and thus it chanced 
that we were thrown intimately together during the period of 
that Congress. 

I say that he was appropriately placed upon that commit- 
tee, because during the war he led the Life of a military man. 
He had exhibited great devotion to the side upon which he 
enlisted. His whole heart and soul and mind and life were 
devoted to the cause. And yet he was one of those liberal 
men who wore the blue during that contest between the States 
who understood that when that war terminated it terminated 
by a cajiittilation between the contending forces : and he not 
only bore no ill-will to the men against whom he fought and 
who fought against him, but he recognized that the surrender 
of Lee to Grant was u^wn given, express tei'ms, and that the 
surrender of Johnston in JTorth Carolina to Sherman was the 
same, except that it was upon terms more favorably expressed. 

Those terms were that the men who wore the gTay in that 
conflict should lay down their arms, retire to their homes, and 
yield obedience to the laws of the Government; and in return 
the distinguished leaders of the Union Army stipulated that 
they should receive the protection of the laws of the Govern- 
ment. Gen. Spinola well understood that those were the 



32 Address of Mr. Hooker, of Mississippi, on I he 

terms of tlie capitulation, and tliciefore, -wbeu the war was 
over, he gave the right hand of fellowship to the meu who 
had been iu conflict against him. 

It was my fortune to be one of those contending on the 
other side, whom he did the honor to call his friends; and. 
Mr. Speaker, although I only returned to the city on yester- 
day, after an absence of some days, I do not feel that it would 
be proper for me to permit this occasion to pass without 
paying my humble tribute, in addition to that which his 
distinguished colleagues have apiJiopriately paid iu uKu-e 
elaborate addresses. I deem it my duty, therefore, to say 
something iu reference to what I knew of our departed 
brother, and to bear my testimony, in common with those who 
have expressed it in more formulated style, to the manner in 
which he demeaned himself as a legislator in tliese halls. 

His advent here was marked by a recognition of the distin- 
guished services which he had rendered iu former legislative 
bodies of which he was a member. As lias been well said by 
his colleagues, he had been distinguished for his services, and, 
as was fittingly said by the gentleman from New York who last 
spoke [Mr. Belden], he had been long known and distinguished 
in botli houses of the legislature of the great Empire State 
tV)r the same chara(!ter of ability which he manifested here. 
Gen. Spinola was an earnest man; he was an honest man: he 
was a zealous man; he was an outspoken man; he was a man 
who came to the front whenever the party to which he was 
attached was impeiiled, and yet a man who, when his country 
was imperiled, could forget his party and rise to the dignity 
of the higher duty which devolved upon him as a patriot. 
His career has been spoken of by a friend of his, who gave me 
a simple memorandum containing a statement of its chief 
features, and I may be permitted therefore to read from that 
memorandum a brief ei)itome of the life of Gen. Spinola. 



Life and Character of Francis B. Spiiiola. 33 

He Avas bom at Stony Brook, Loug Island, on March 19, 
1S21; was educated at Quaker Hill Academy in Dutchess 
County, Ne^r York; was five times elected an alderman, three 
times a supervisor; served six years as a member of the 
assembly of the State of New York, and four years as a senator ; 
was appointed a brigadier-general of volunteers, October 25, 
1802, for meritorious conduct in recruiting and organizing a 
brigade of four regiments and accompanying them to the field. 
He was honorably discharged from the service in August, 1865, 
after having been twice wounded during his military serATce. 
He was a delegate to the Democratic convention which met at 
Charleston in the spring of 1800; was elected to the Fiftieth 
Congress; was reelected to the Fifty-first Congress, and was 
also retjlected to this, the Fifty-second Congress. 

This is a brief statement of the public positions which he 
held; and when he came here he took rank in this high arena 
of debate witli the oldest and the most experienced members. 
He brought to bear that element of character in alegislator and 
a debater which I consider more important than the i)Ower of 
oratory. The old orator of Latin days said that oratory con- 
sisted of "action," "action,'' "action." If I might be so bold 
as to venture upon a correction of the definition of the word 
from so higii a source, I should say that true oratory consists 
ill earnestness, earnestness, earnestness. And it was this ele- 
ment which emphatically tinged every feature of the character 
of Gen. Spinola. He was an efficient member of the com- 
mittee to which he belonged, a faithful representative of the 
constituency which he had the honor so ably to represent 
here. Though oftentimes feeble in health, he was always found 
at his post of duty when in the city, constantly in his iseat as 
a Eepresentative here, constantly in attendance upon the 
meetings of his committee; and no man fulfilled the duties of 

H. Mis. 1(12 3 



34 Address of Mr. Hooker, of Mississippi, on I he 

a Eepresentativc with a truer sense of the responsibility to 
liis constituency than did Gen. Spinola. 

It lias been referred to by my eloquent friend from Alabama 
[Mr. Wheeler] who spoke in commemoratiou of my friend. 
Gen. Spinola, that there was one subject to which he seemed 
particularly devoted, one topic upon which he never tired of 
speakiuji, one cause that to him was dearer than all others. 
It was the cause of the dead. Most men wlio sjjeak, speak 
for the ajjplause of the living. Most men who speak are 
doing so because they have a constituency who are to respond 
to their addresses. He spoke for those who had been- buried 
for a century, who had died in the prison ships of the British 
Government off the island upon which he lived. He spoke in 
able and earnest terms. He gave a history of the manner in 
which those men had lost their lives. 

He stated in his speech and in the report of which he was 
the author, a report made from the Military Committee, to which 
he belonged, that the loss of life on the British prison ships 
in the war of the Eevolution was absolutely greater than the 
loss in all the battles both by sea and land in that seven years 
war. It was a memorable thing, and he felt that the country 
owed a debt of gratitude to those who had suffered and died 
in this cause. He pointed in the speech which he made to 
the fact that we were making suitable provision for those who 
had survi\ed the war between tlie States, by granting them 
pensions; that we give pensions to the widows and children 
of those who perished in that war. Then he said, here are 
11,000 men whose bones lie bleaching on the shores of Long 
Island, near the bay where the prison ships of the British 
were anchored during the war of the llevolutiou. Some gen- 
erous-hearted people ill Brooklyn had gathered those bones 
together and given tlicu decent interment. 

He gave a history of .the case, and appealed to the Congress 



Life and Character of Francis B. Spinola. 35 

of the United States, while they were paying pensions to the 
living, to the survivors of the Eevolution and the war of 1813 
and of the war between tlie States, that a common sentiment 
of justice, of humanity, of love for those who had perished in 
those prison ships in the war which gave birth to the Eepub- 
lic ought to animate the Congress of the United States to 
make a simple donation of $50,000, which was all he asked. 

I remember, as he arose from his seat just in fi-ont of the 
Speaker, that he addressed the House with so much earnest- 
ness upon this subject that his appeal was so powerful that 
every man in the Hall listened to him. And I believe that had 
he survived and been a member of this Congress the stern 
energy, the devoted patriotism which characterized him, would 
have eventually crowned his efforts with success. I can not 
pay his memory a higher tribute than by reading from the 
Record of the Fiftieth Congress what he had to say when that 
bill was under consideration. I hope, therefore, that the mem- 
bers of the House will bear with me while I turn to the Kecord 
to recall the words in which he expressed himself. I read from 
pages 0559-00 of the Congressional Eecord of July 10, 1888: 

Mr. Spinola. Mr. Speaker, history establishes the fact that there were 
more lives sacrificed in the prison ships in which the British continetl the 
prisoners of the American Revolution than were lost in all the l>attles of 
that war. Eleven thousand and five hundred were sacrificed, men who 
had their liberty at command ou any day when they would consent to 
abandon the cause of the colonies and enter the British Army. There was 
no one day during their long confinement and snff'ering but the provost 
guard approached them and offered them their freedom if tliey would 
embrace the British cause ; and, to the credit of twenty thousand American 
patriots who suffered on board those prison ships, there never was but a 
single one who betrayed his country and left his associates and joined the 
British service. [Applause.] Now, sir, I will ask attention for a minute 
or two while I read from the history of the AVallabout prison ships and the 
martyrs who died there. 

I will cite one case where the British had captured a company of 
American soldiers in South Carolina, and the Hessiau captain who com- 
manded the enemy otfered those men their freedom if they would go into 
the British service. Said he, after they had refused his offer: 



36 Address of Mr. Hooker, of Mississippi, on iJie 

"Go, then, to your (iuiiLteons in the prison ships where you shall perish 
and rot. lint first let n)e tell you that rations which have been hitherto 
allowed to your wives and children shall from this moment cease forever, 
and you shall die assured that they are starving in the pnblic streets, and 
that you are the authcns of tlieir fate." 

That was the declaration ofthat British oliicer to the company of Ameri- 
can patriots that had been captured iu South Carolina. A .sentence so 
terribly awful appalled the firm soul of every listening hero. 

'• A solemn silence followed tlie declaration. They cast tlnir wondering 
eye.s oue upon the other, and valor for a moment hung suspended between 
love of family and love of country. Love of country at leugtli ro.se supe- 
rior to every other consideration, and, moved by one impulse, this glorious 
band of patriots thundered iu the astonished ears of their persecutors: 
'The ])risou ships and death, or Washington and our country ! ' " 

[Applause and cries of " Vote! " "Vote! "] 

The bones of the patriotic soldiers whodiedin the prison ships were put 
iu the temporary tomb, which was erected by Benjamin Romaine, the 
grand sachem, who had been instrumental in gathering them together and 
who owued the ground on which the toml) was erected. In 1842 the city 
of Brooklyn asked to have the bones turned over to it for appropriate 
sepulture. Iu reply to that ap])licatiou Mr. Komaiue wrote: 

"I have guarded these sacred remains, with a reverence which perhaps 
at this day all may not ajjpreciate or feel, for more than thirty years. 
They are now in their right place, near the Wallabout and adjoining the 
navy yard. They are my property. I have expended more than $900 in 
and about their protection and preservation. I commend them to the 
protection of the General Government. I bei|ueath them to my country." 

Thus it will be seen he gave them to the United States; he gave them 
to his country. 

•■This concern is sacred to me. It lies near my heart. I suffered with 
those whose bones I venerate. I fonght beside them. I bled with them." 

This man belonged to the army himself; he went through the whole 
seven years' service under Washington. He has given the remains of 
these men to the American Kepublic. If they had not died the martyr's 
death that they did we would have had, in my humble judgment, no 
Anuriiau Kepublic to-night. Those men died to create the rnion. We 
respect and venerate those who iu later years have died to protect and 
preserve the Tnion; why should we not remember those l>y nutans of 
whose sntVerings the Kepublic itself was established? 

This monument, where it is proposed to erect it, will overlook the very 
spot on which these men died. It will overlook the battletiehl of Lon" 
Island; it will overlook the ])lace where the gallant Maryland regiment 
suffered death when tin; Hrisish drove them into the water. It will over- 
look Nt'w York B.ay, the East River, and the Sound. There is no more 
fitting j)lace on earth for such a monument to be erected than that i)ro- 
posed by the bill under consideration. I appeal to the generosity and 



Life and Character of Francis B. Spinola. 37 

pati-iotism of the American poci]il.'. 1 ;isk ;;eii(liMiien here to-night, in Wv. 
name of justice and right, to join in perpetuating the memory of these. 
men who died as martjrs for their couutrj'. 

There is nothing so indelihiy fixed on my mind as that which was painted 
tliere tlii^ first time I saw the tomb of these men. It was over sixty 
years ago, when I was a small hoy. For fifty years the society which 
gathered these bones raised tlie liag overtliem on the 4th of July. That 
ceremony ceased to be observe<l because the city of Brooklyn took pos- 
session of these remains, and tliey are in its charge now. I believe that 
the Ameri<'an people, if this question were submitted to them, would vote 
almost unanimously for any sum which might be named for this purpose. 
We are paying to-day $160,000 a year for the maintenance of the ceme- 
teries in which .sleep our Union dead. That is right. We are paying 
.$40,000 or $50,000 to provide' monuments or grave stones for those wlio 
have died in the service of the country. We are spending $60,000 or 
$80,000 a year for the construction and maintenance of roads by which 
these cemeteries can be approached. 

All this is right. Sir, on the passage of this bill, if the thing were pos- 
sible, I would have the name of George AVashiugton called. He would 
vote "ay." So would his <'ompatriot, Lafayette. [Applause.] Every- 
body will vote for this measure except that British officer in the corner 
vonder [pointing to the ]iicture on one side of the Hall] and the Hessians 
who stand behind him. They will not vote with us. I do not believe 
there is a Hessian on the floor of this House; therefore I expect a unani- 
mous vote in favor of the j>a.ssage of this bill. [Applause.] 

I hope, sir, that tlies(^ patriot martyrs shall not, iioM' tliat 
Gen. Spinola is dead, waut an advocate for this coinmon act 
of justice on the part of the American people. His mantle in 
tlii.^ Uongress, to which he was elected, has, by the choice of 
the people of the Tenth OouoTessional district of Xew York, 
fallen upon one of the most distinguished lawyers of that 
city, renowned not only for his power at the bar, but as an 
orator. While he thus steps into the shoes and falls heir to 
the mantle of Gen. Spinola, I hope he will be inspired with 
a desire to carry out the ettbrt of that gentleman during his 
lifetime to secure this simple act of justice to the martyrs 
who died in the British prison ships, and that the news may 
be carried to him in that other worhl, where he has gone to 
receive his reward, that if he did not succeed himself, his 
people have chosen a successor here who will still lu-ge upon 



38 Address of Mr. Cooper^ of Indiana^ on the 

the Ameiican Congress to do that act of duty in the endeavor 
to procure which Gen. Spinola spent the closing years of 
liis life. 

It was my pleasure frequently to enjoy his most cordial 
welcome and enlari^cil hospitality in tliis city. It was also 
my pleasure on one occasion to accomi)any him from this city, 
and to accept the hospitality of that political society to which 
he was proud to belong. There, in his companj-, I shared the 
hospitality of Tammany Hall ; and whether here, iu his commo- 
dious quarters, presided over with so much grace and elegance 
by his accomidished and devoted wife, or whether in that hall 
where he had so ofteu sat with his comrades who agreed with 
him on political questions, he dispensed hospitality witli that 
lare grace and earnestness of manner which belonged to few 
men. Those qualities of earnestness, Mr. Speaker, and those 
qualities of genial hospitality attached men to him with 
"hooks of steel;" and wlien once they became known to Gen. 
Spinola, they never failed to love him. 

Now, he haspassed away ;but we, wlio knew him in these ITalls, 
follow him with our love. He has gone to that ''undiscovered 
country,from whose bourne no traveler returns." He has gone; 
and i 1 1 ( )ur verdict, we pronounce that he possessed the character 
of an earnest, honest, and patriotic man. We now commit him 
humbly to the judgment of Him whose all-seeing eye watches 
the sparrow as it falls and counts the unnumbered sands upon 
the seashore and weigheth the hills as in a scale and the nunin- 
tains in balances aiid measureth the waters of tlie earth in the 
hollow of His hand. 



Life and Charactfr of Francis B. Spinola. :39 

ADDRESS OF Mr. Cooper, of Indiana. 

Mr. Speaker : What we do and say here to-day is for the liv 
iiig, not for the dead. Francis B. Spinola has passed away 
from earth. His account is l)alanced, and the books are closed. 
No word of ours can help or harm him now. If from a sense of 
bereavement or sorrow, or if by way of atonement for past 
indifference to merit, we make some demonstration over the 
graves of our friends this ft^ct may reflect credit upon us; it 
may satisfy our consciences and allay our grief, but it can not 
affect the departec' 

If the bitterness engendered in a life of toil and struggle 
should still be manifest; if the voice of opposition and the 
spirit of envy which assail and follow the living should lind 
utterance against the dead, it would expose the weakness of 
our nature and the wickedness of the human heart; it would 
reflect upon the living but it could not harm the dead. In life 
a man's character belongs to him ; in a certain sense it is his 
property; he is its builder; he must protect and defend it. 
When the work is finished and the workman is called away, 
that which is left belongs to the world; it is the property of 

the race. 

It is for this reason that it seems to me not only proper but 
profitable to devote some time to the consideration of the lives 
of such of our colleagues as have fallen around us here, to put 
upon record our estimate of their character and to furnish to 
the world an inventory of its new acquisition. 

Mr. Speaker, my acquaintance with Gen. Spinola began 
with the Fifty-first Congress, and my opportunities for study 
ing his character were limited to our two years of service here. 
During that time there were few men on this floor who were 
accorded more marked attention or resi>ectful consideration. 
He was in many respects a remarkable man. 



40 Address of Mr, Cooper, of Indiana, on the 

III the first place, he was a strouy individuality; he was 
uot a machiue-inade man. By some chance or other he had 
escaped the inexorable processes of our latter-day training;- 
which prunes every faculty and reduces every asi)iration 
to a formula. He had some lines of character which neither 
fashion nor friction nor the so-called culture of modern society 
could polish away. He was unique and therefore interesting. 
Though representing a metropolitan district he had all the 
appearance and demeanor of a pioneer, and had he lived in 
one of our Western communities we should have called him 
"uncle" and made him governor of the State. 

Mr. Speaker, it is unfortunate for our country and the times 
in which we live that the tendency is to dwarf the individual. 
At the doorway of our schools the children stand in line; 
having entered they are graded and classified, and the 
necessity for discipline aiul methods in dealing with numbers 
leaves little room for the orderly exercise or development of 
individual traits. Instead of dealing with the child as a 
plant which should be sufiered to develop on all sides in 
obedience to the law of its nature and from the forces supplied 
from within, it is set in a row and trimmed so that the lines 
may be even and the general effect symmetrical. 

This synthetic process has also obtained in other departments 
of life. Men must stand in line at the shop, at the ticket office 
at the theater, at the railway station, and even at tlie doors 
of our popular churches. The village blacksmith now stands 
among a wilderness of wheels, where he is known by number 
and not by name, and merely superintends a machine which is 
in itself almost automatic. Our Priscilla is taken from her 
spindle and her distaff, and she stands in line to watch the 
play of steam-driven fingers. 

Mr. Sjicaker, just what should be done to arrest this process 
by which, like pebbles in the bed of a brook, we are all to be 



Life and Character of Francis B. Spinola. 41 

rounded and evened up, just liow iu the midst of a multitude 
eaeli one shall still be sufl'eied to pursue his individual path, 
this is neithei' the time nor place to disi-uss. I have called 
attention to this condition in order to j;ive emphasis to the 
character of him whose loss we mourn here to-day. 

Tlie lesson of his life is that, notwithstandinj;- the evident 
tendency of the times is to group and label, to grade and 
classify mankind, it is possible for a nuin to realize the value 
of his own individuaUty, and that to develop and preserve the 
forces which are peculiar to each is to respond to the call of God 
within us and to execute his infinite jjurpose coucerniug us. 

Gen. Spinola was a man of great coui'age. It was perhaps 
owing to the predominance of this charactei'istic trait that he 
was able to survive all the enervating influences of our modern 
so-called culture, and that he could not be brought either by 
comi^romise or compidsiou to worship at its altar. I repeat 
he was a man of marked individuality; he bore no stamp or 
factory brand. He C(nild create; he could not imitate. He 
could lead, but he did not know how to follow. 

There was a little passage at arms here on this floor during 
the first session of tlie Fifty-first Congress between him and one 
of his colleagues from New Tork [Mr. Lansing], in which the 
latter paid to him, perhaps unwittingly, the greatest and most 
fitting complimeut which, to my mind, could be framed into 
language. In discussing the question of prison labor Gen. 
Spinola bad called attention to the evil consequences of bring- 
ing convict labor into competition with free and honest artisans, 
and in the course of these remarks he had referred to the posi- 
tion and demands of some labor organizations in his State. 
Eesponding, Mr. Lansing said: 

It was said of my frieud and colleague from New York that when he was 
a soldier, if lie saw a whole corps of rebels he did not think they were more 
than a corporal's guard, but now he seems to see in every labor organiza- 
tion of ten a whole election district. 



42 Address of Air. Cooper, of Indiana, on the 

And this may be taken as a key to bis character. He was 
l)iave when his duty was dear, but he was afraid to do wrong. 
He eoukl fight and lead in the front of battk- ; tbe loudmouthed 
cannon and the saber's flash, the onset and shock of battle had 
no terrors for him, but as a conscientious and faitlifnl servant 
of the people, when called to act where there was doubt or 
danger, he became fearful lest he might not clearly undersrand 
and fully record their wishes. 

Mr. Speaker, the deceased was a kind and friendly man. As 
a humble Representative from a distant State I came here a 
stranger to this place, and from the first he gave me the most 
cordial and generous treatment. Now that he is gone, I gladly 
bear testimony to my impressions concerning him, and can 
truthfully say that to me he seemed strong, and brave, and 
true. His career on earth is ended, but the impression he leaves 
behind is clear and distinct, and it will become brighter as it 
is studied, and more precious in that day when the world leai-ns 
that her richest treasures are the names other brave and manly 
men. 

Mr. CUMMINGS. I ask for the reading of the resolutions 
sent to the desk at the beginning of the special order. 
The Clerk read as follows : 

Jtcsolrcd, That tbe business of the House be now suspended that oppor- 
tunity may he given for tributes to the memory of the Hon. Francis B. 
Si'iNOi.A, late a Representative from the State of New York. 

Besolved, That as a particular mark of respect to the memory of the 
deceased and in recognition of his eminent abilities as a distinguished 
public servant the House, at the conclusion of these memorial proceedings, 
shall stand adjourned. 

Resolved, That the Clerk ((immuuicate these resolutions to the Senate. 

RcsoJred, That the Clerk be instructed to send a copy of these resolu- 
tions to the fauiilv of the deceased. 



Life and Character of Francis B. Spinola. 43 

Mr. CuMMiNGS. Mr. Speaker, I move the adoption of tlie 
resohitious. 

The resolutious were unauimously adopted. 

The Speaker jyro tempore (Mr. Wilsou of Missouri in the 
chair). In accordance with the second resolution just passed, 
the House stands adjourned until iMonday, March 28, at 12 
o'clock m. 

Accordingly (at 3 o'clock and 46 minutes p. m.) the House 
adjoui'ned. 



PROCEEDINGS IX THE SENATE. 



EULOGIES. 



Febeitary 25, 1893. 

]\Ir. Hill. I now ask tliat the resolutions from the House 
of Eepresentatives reUitive to the death of the late Francis 
B. Spinola may be laid before the Senate. 

The Vice-President. The Chair lays before the Senate 
resolutions from the House of Eepresentatives; which will be 
read. 

The Chief Clerk read as follows: 

Eesolced, That the business of the House be now suspended that op- 
portunity may be given for tributes to Ihe memory nf the Hon. Francis 
B. Spinola, hite a Representative from the State of New York. 

Eeaolved, That as a particular mark of respect to the memory of the 
deceased, aud iu recognition of his eminent abilities as a distinguished 
public servant, the House, at the couclusion of these memorial proceed- 
ings, shall stand adjourned. 

Resoh-ed, That the Clerk communicate these resolutions to the Senate. 

Resolved, That the Clerk be instructed to send a copy of these resolu- 
tions to the famUy of the deceased. 

Mr. Hill. I ofler the resolutions, which I send to the desk. 
The Vice-President. The resolutions will be read. 
The Chief Clerk read as follows : 

Sesolred, That the Senate has heard with profound sorrow the announce- 
ment of the death of Hon. Fr.\ncis B. Spinola, late a Representative from 

the State of New York. 

45 



46 Address of Mr. Hill, of New York, on the 

IleKolvKl, Tliat the Imsincss i)f the Senatr 1><? now suspeudeil in order 
that fitting tribute he paid to his memory. 

Resolved, That in the death of Gen. Spinola. the eoiintry has lost a 
gaUant sohlier, an able and faithful Representative in Congress, and an 
esteemed and patriotic citizen. 



Address of Mr. Hill, of New York. 

Mr. President : The resolutions passed by the other House 
durinjr the last session of the present Congress duly informed 
us of the death of Fkaxcis B. Spinola, of XewTork, an hon- 
ored Eepresentative of that body. The delay iu taking- action 
thereon in the .Senate has been occasioned solely by a niisap- 
])reheiision as to whose province it was to call up tlie resolu- 
tions and institute further action. The death of Gen. Spinola 
occurred before I took my seat in this Chamber, and he having 
been of my own political faitli my colleague kindly and c(mrt- 
cously waited for me to take the initiative iu the proceedings 
to appropriately pay tribute to the memory of the deceased. 

The elaborate eulogies upon the character and public services 
of this distinguished citizeij in .the other House, which have 
already been placed upon the records of Congress, render my 
task a brief one. His immediate associates, with whom he had 
served in Congress so long and accei)tably, have in their able 
and interesting addresses described the incidents of his early 
life, the details of his successful business career, his political 
achievements, the laiu-els which lie won as a .-^ohlier. his abili- 
ties as a debater, and his many excellent qualities of mind and 
heart. ISTot caring to repeat what they have so fully delineated, 
1 content myself with a bare reference to the po,sitious which 
lie filled and honored, the triumi)lis wliich h,e secured, and the 
general characteristics of the man. 

Permit me to remark that few men in Congress liave been 



Life and Character of Francis B. Spinola. 47 

more frequeutly di- highly honored. He enjoyed a long, varied, 
and brilliant i^nblic career, evidencing the full confideuce of 
his fellow-citizens, and the general satisfaction with which he 
discharged every public trust. He was alderman, supervisor, 
several times an assemblyman in Xew York, State senator, 
brigadier-general of volunteers, and three times elected to 
Congi'css. His rise was not sudden. He did not jump from 
obscurity into exalted position, impreiiared for the discharge 
of great duties. Xo freak of fortune or of politics brought him 
to the front; but he was a plodder, a worker, a faithful, indus- 
trious, and energetic citizen, and largely the architect of his 
own deserved success. 

He was a partisan in the best sense of the term. He believed 
in his side. He regarded party organization as essential to 
permanent political success, and he never despised the ladder 
which had repeatedly elevated him to power. He was also a 
patriot and a soldier. He was a fighter by nature and taste; 
he loved strife. He was quick to resent a wrong, and always 
ready to forgive. He was impulsive, clear-headed, brave, and 
generous. 

He was not only true to his country — he was true to his 
party and to his friends. He believed in personal fiieudships 
in public life, and he hated his ''enemies, persecutors, and 
slanderers." 

Competent military men and critics believe that had the 
right opportunity occurred, he would have shown himself to 
be one of the great soldiers of the times. The records of his 
gallantry are found in the archives of the nation, and in the 
general orders and reports of his superior officers. 

He was audacious, courageous, and firm, and was apparently 
"born To command." He loved his soldiers, and they in turn 
loved him. 

His record in Congress was most creditable. He was a 



48 Address of Air. Hiscock, of New Vork, on Ihc 

ready debator, quick at repartee, full of sarcasm, and had 
a keen appreciation of the humorous. It is safe to say that 
iu Congress he Avas able, alert, patriotic, and zealous in the 
performance of his high and respoiisiljlc duties. His friends 
l)elieved iu him — loved, honored and respected him. 

I knew him as a leading citizen of New York, as a prom- 
inent and trusted business man. I knew him an eminent mem- 
ber of the legislature. I knew him to be a true friend. 

Columns of eulogy are not needed to show oiu- appreciation 
of his public and private services, or to evidence the loss we 
have sustained in his departure. He has fought the good 
iight and gone to his reward. A good man has tallen, and 
the people mouin. IMore brilliant, more able, more renowned 
men have adorned seats in the Congress of the nation; but 
none moreiiatriotic, none more .sincere, none more trustworthy 
than Francis B. Spinola. 



Address of Mr. Hiscock, of New York. 

Mr. President : Gen. Spinola was a marked character in 
the State of New York where he was born and lived all his life, 
the State he represented in the other branch of Congress at 
the time of his death. Entering public life at the age of -'1 
years he was continuously, until the time of his death, about 
fifty years later, before the people of his State, representing a 
constituency, either in the city of his residence, at the State 
capital in Albany, or in the Congress of the United States. 

It is rarely that a member of a political party maintains 
the hold he did upon his party organization and the people of 
the community amongst whom he lived for so lonj; a jieriod of 
time. That is esijecially true of public men in the State of 
New York. He never aspired to be the absolute leader of his 



Life and Character of Francis B. Spinola. 49 

party. Those men fell or were displaced by others ; but Gen. 
Spinola in all the changes which took place, held a promi- 
nent position and possessed the confidence of his friends and 
constituents. 

Sir, while this was true of him, he was a man of strong con- 
victions, and positive opinions, and expressed them in lan- 
guage that was neither uncertain nor equivocal. 

Gen. Spinola maintained his mental vigor to the last, and 
doubtless the hold which he retained upon his party was due 
largely to that fact. Never since I had the honor to know him 
has there been a time when he was not a trusted counselor 
in the political organizations of his party. His life was mainly 
devoted to politics and to political matters, yet he was not a 
careful builder of political fortunes, and the position which 
he held so long was not due especially to his adroitness or 
manipulations, but his success was rather the result of his bold, 
audacious championship, and the absolute confidence in his 
integrity entertained by his friends and concurred in by his 
opponents. 

He was the siirvivor of a generation of leaders of the Demo- 
cratic party in New York — great men — who held a marked 
place in national and State councils; and I sometimes think 
that with their death and with the death of men like Gen. 
Spinola, the last survivor whom I now recall of that class of 
men in the State of New York, the country has lost largely, 
because there has been a loss of their methods and that high 
integrity in political management which they dictated. 

Gen. Spinola scarcely attained a great national reputation ; 
and that is true of very many able and influential citizens of 
New York in public life then, who content themselves with the 
honors and positions which are bestowed by their friends and 
their party in their own State rather than seek national repu- 
tation or position. He, however, was possessed of such ability 

H. Mis. 102 4 



50 Address of Mr. fJiscock, of New York. 

that had he, earlier iu life, soiij;ht a position in the national 
Coii^ness or in connection with the National Government, he 
could have sustained himself as ably there as lie did iu the 
legislature of his own State or in the other positions with 
which he was honored at home. 

Mr. President, I move the adoption of the resolutions sub- 
mitted by my colleague. 

The Vice-President. The question is on the adoption of 
the resolutions. 

The resolutions were unanimously agreed to. 

Mr. HiscocK. I offer, Mr. President, the resolution which I 
send to the desk. 

The Vice-President. The resolution will be read. 

The resolution was read, as follows : 

Besoli-ed, That as an additional mark of ri'spect to the memory of the 
deceased, the Senate do now adjourn. 

The Vice-President. The question is on the adoption of 
the resolution. 

The resolution was agreed to; and thereupon (at 5 o'clock and 
23 minutes p. m.) the Senate adjourned until Monday, February 
27, 1893, at 11 o'clock a. m. 



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